Time by Tom Waits Lyrics Meaning – The Haunting Dance of Memory and Moments
Lyrics
And the shadow boys are breaking all the laws
And you’re east of East Saint Louis and the wind is making speeches
And the rain sounds like a round of applause
And Napoleon is weeping in a carnival saloon
His invisible fiancee’s in the mirror
And the band is going home, it’s raining hammers, it’s raining nails
And it’s true there’s nothing left for him down here
And it’s time, time, time
And it’s time, time, time
And it’s time, time, time, that you love
And it’s time, time, time
And they all pretend they’re orphans and their memory’s like a train
You can see it getting smaller as it pulls away
And the things you can’t remember tell the things you can’t forget
That history puts a saint in every dream
Well, she said she’d stick around until the bandages came off
But these mama’s boys just don’t know when to quit
And Mathilda asks the sailors “are those dreams or are those prayers?”
So close your eyes, son, and this won’t hurt a bit
Oh, it’s time, time, time
And it’s time, time, time
And it’s time, time, time that you love
And it’s time, time, time
Well, things are pretty lousy for a calendar girl
The boys just dive right off the cars and splash into the street
And when they’re on a roll she pulls a razor from her boot
And a thousand pigeons fall around her feet
So put a candle in the window and a kiss upon his lips
As the dish outside the window fills with rain
Just like a stranger with the weeds in your heart
And pay the fiddler off ’til I come back again
Oh, it’s time, time, time
And it’s time, time, time
And it’s time, time, time that you love
And it’s time, time, time
And it’s time, time, time
And it’s time, time, time
And it’s time, time, time that you love
And it’s time, time, time
Tom Waits’ gravelly voice and poignant lyrics often weave together narratives that claw at the edges of reality and fiction. ‘Time’ is a masterpiece of such storytelling, steeped in imagery that evokes a sense of nostalgia, melancholy, and an acute awareness of life’s transient nature.
Sifting through the veiled poetry and picturesque scenes that ‘Time’ paints, one can uncover layers of meaning about the human condition, the relentless passage of time, and the bittersweet symphony of memories.
The Winding Clock of Existence: How ‘Time’ Ticks Away
Waits’ opening lines set the stage for a world where normalcy is cosmically skewed: smart money on forgotten starlets, the moon cavorting in urban landscapes, and laws shattered by spectral figures. It’s a celestial yet eerily grounded affair, hinting at the chaotic dance between order and anarchy.
As the song progresses, listeners are escorted through bustling, timeless scenery—a place beyond maps where even the elements partake in ovations. It’s an almost palpable atmosphere where the abstract concept of ‘time’ is transformed into an entity, observing and orchestrating the unfolding drama.
Ephemeral Echoes: The Profound Wisdom in ‘Time’
The chorus, simple and repetitive, emphasizes the invocation of ‘time’ as a central theme. It serves as a reminder, a meditative chant, that at the core of our existence, there’s a need to love and be loved—a concept as old as time itself.
Waits’ signature growl delivers these lines as if they were ancient truths, rediscovered and laid bare for the listener to grapple with. Every repetition of ‘time’ becomes a tick of life’s grand clock, a heartbeat in the quiet darkness of introspection.
Fading Memories and Forever Moments
One of the most evocative verses, ‘And they all pretend they’re orphans and their memory’s like a train / You can see it getting smaller as it pulls away,’ uncovers the pain of forgetting and the strength of our internal narratives. Waits suggests that our past continuously slips away from us, while the stories we tell ourselves remain.
Further, there’s an element of selective memory at play—the things we hold on to define the tales we are willing to recall. It reminds us of the role of the storyteller in shaping personal and communal histories, framing saints within our dreams to keep the more profound truths at bay.
Scratching Beneath the Surface: The Song’s Hidden Meaning
At first glance, Waits’ words paint diverse vignettes—a weeping Napoleon, a gritty calendar girl, a young lad facing inevitable pain. Yet, these seemingly scattered images connect through the underlying theme of time’s relentless progression and its impact on identity, love, and purpose.
The hidden meaning manifests in the metaphorical ‘bandages’ of our lives, the temporary fixes to heartaches that time eventually unravels, exposing raw truths underneath. Waits hints at time’s dual ability to heal wounds and reveal uncomfortable realities.
Echoing through the Ages: Memorable Lines that Resonate
Waits has a gift for crafting lyrics that resonate long after the music stops, and ‘Time’ is no exception. Lines like ‘The rain sounds like a round of applause’ and ‘So put a candle in the window and a kiss upon his lips’ are etched into the collective consciousness, capturing the universal human experience.
These phrases strike chords within us because they reference elemental human actions—putting a candle in the window as a beacon of hope, or the intimate act of kissing someone goodbye. These moments stand immortalized in Waits’s gravel-timbre, echoing the haunting and beautiful passage of time.
